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Friday, 12 April 2013

The recent death of my father has brought all sorts of things to light, including some photographs of my maternal grandfather, Arthur Jackson. He was a member of the Territorial Army before the Second World War, and was mobilised in September 1939. His unit was sent to France to be part of the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) and he was evacuated from Dunkirk. He was extremely lucky to have been evacuated as he had been wounded and a large number of the wounded were left behind to become prisoners of war.

Once he had recovered he was on active service for the rest of the war, and ended it as a Troopship's Regimental Sergeant Major. (He was in charge of the administration and onboard discipline of military personnel travelling aboard troopships.) His work took him to almost every theatre of operations, and he was awarded:

The War Medal 1939-1945

The 1939-1945 Star

The Italy Star

The Atlantic Star

The Burma Star

The Pacific Star (I don't think that he should have been awarded the Pacific Star as he had already qualified for the Burma Star. What he should have been awarded was a clasp to the Burma Star.)

Relaxing aboard ship ... with a bottle of beer.

Musical entertainment aboard a troopship.

After he was demobbed, my maternal grandfather worked as an ornamental blacksmith, and I understand that he produced some of the gates mounted at the entrances of several Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in Europe. I was only young when he died, but I am proud to have had Arthur as my maternal grandfather.

An aside: Some years ago I had to address a meeting at the Royal Artillery Museum, Woolwich. As I was handed the microphone by Major General Michael Steele, the PA system stopped working. When I made the comment that both my father and my grandfather had been senior Royal Artillery NCOs, and that if I could not make myself heard using just my own voice, then I was a disgrace to my forebears, everyone in the room laughed! None of them had any problem hearing what I had to say ... and Gunners are notorious for having bad hearing.

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The First Rule of Wargaming and the Spirit of the Wargame

The First Rule:

‘Nothing can be done contrary to what could or would be done in actual war.'

- From 'The Rules of the Naval War Game' by Fred T Jane

The Spirit of the Wargame:

‘Wargames are played, for the most part, without the supervision of an umpire. The game relies on the integrity of the individual players to show consideration for other players and to abide by the rules. All players should conduct themselves in a disciplined manner, demonstrating courtesy and sportsmanship at all times, irrespective of how competitive they may be. This is the spirit of the wargame.’

- Adapted from 'The Spirit of the Game' in 'The Rules of Golf' as published by the R&A Ltd.

About Me

I have been wargaming for as long as I can remember. One of the first toys that I was bought was a wooden fort that was garrisoned by assorted lead soldiers ... and I have never looked back!
The first wargames book I bought was CHARGE! (although I had taken out [and repeatedly read] Donald Featherstone's WAR GAMES book beforehand [and many thanks to John Curry for republishing it!]).
My first 20mm figures were the good old Airfix Guards Infantry and Band (in shocking pink!), soon followed by others as they were released, and by 1968, when I bought my first metal Hinton Hunt 20mm figures, I had a large collection of World War II figures, tanks, guns, and aircraft.
I was a founder member of WARGAME DEVELOPMENTS and have been the treasurer and membership secretary ever since. I have also organised – along with Tim Gow - the annual conference (COW – Conference of Wargamers) for the past ten years.
My main interests are wargaming any wars from 1850 onwards, although I have a special interest in Colonial, the Spanish Civil War, and World War II wargaming.
I also have a special interest in wargames that use square or hex grids for movement and weapon ranges.